Page 34 of Second Chance in Charlevoix (Charlevoix Dreams #3)

Cate

W hat a wonderful day. Sitting in the back garden, Cate was so glad that Sam had a chance to plant the flower beds at Sunnycrest. Blue hydrangeas now could be found both in the front and back.

Her sister Joanne would be so pleased since she’d planted the first hydrangea bushes so long ago.

Now the blue beauties had their rightful place in Izzy’s wedding.

Clusters of baby’s breath were banked in the back flower beds, along with pink echinacea and bold pink petunias.

Izzy had used lots of baby’s breath for her bouquet, as well as the flowers her bridesmaids carried. Inside the house, the caterer was fussing with the wedding cake, which would be topped by blue hydrangeas. Cate found that very original.

That girl. With a little help from her sisters, Izzy had planned everything.

And now Cate was sitting in the mother-of-the -bride seat.

Jo, I know you’re here with us. And I know you approve.

And Monty, the same to you . Taking a handkerchief from her beaded clutch, Cate dabbed at her eyes.

A deep sense of family surrounded her and she felt their blessing.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she whispered to Irene, who was sitting next to her.

Today Irene looked especially pretty in an aqua dress with a matching jacket.

Izzy had helped pick it out, and Irene still raved about that shopping trip.

She’d learned to hook shopping bags on her walker.

As long as she stayed on her medications, Skipper’s mother seemed to do very well.

Her contentment overflowing, Cate smoothed her pink silk dress, peeking down at her clear plastic wedgies with embedded pink roses.

A pianist played “Ode to Joy” on a keyboard in back of the rows of chairs, now swathed in white linen and topped by pink bows.

Cate’s heart swelled along with the popular classic piece.

How she’d wished for this day. If Monty were here with her, he’d be equally pleased.

He’d always liked Skipper. Thought he had good values and that he really loved Izzy.

Behind them, guests were filling in. Well, there would be plenty of time to visit later.

Cate wanted this peaceful moment to sit there with Irene, relishing the wedding that she’d hoped would come about someday.

And sure, she may have given it a little nudge or two along the way.

The girls never seemed to mind. Well, most of the time.

“How do you like your new home?” she asked Irene.

Recently, Skipper had bought a larger house on the outskirts of town.

She imagined that letting their old home go might have been difficult for his mother.

But Irene’s face lit up, almost as bright as her hot pink nails. “Oh, it’s wonderful. You’ll have to come visit. That grandmother suite in the back is perfect. Holly likes to play house back there with me.”

“I’m so glad the kids decided to make that move. I admire you for supporting the change. Must have been hard.” Cate wondered how many years the Malone family had lived in their home.

Irene patted her gray hair, styled in waves for today. “It helped when my daughter came to town. You know, after my spell in the garden. Ainsley pointed out that the house was too small and very dated.”

“Oh, yes, of course. We were all so glad you recovered.” What a nightmare that had been.

But sometimes stressful times can bring about good decisions.

Something magical had happened after Irene’s stint in the hospital.

Darling Izzy had finally seen the light and realized that Skipper was the one for her.

Cate wasn’t the only person who thought that was plain as the nose on her face.

But Izzy had to realize that herself. The Quinn girls could be quite stubborn .

“Ainsley had a fit when she saw that we didn’t even have a dishwasher,” Irene continued.

“Isn’t it wonderful not to wash everything by hand?”

“I don’t know why I held out.” When Irene shook her head, her waves never moved. “I’ve never been one for change. Anyway, Ainsley told me that the bathrooms needed remodeling too. It was too much to take on.”

“Yes, Isabel said that you didn’t want to live through the chaos we had remodeling everything.” In the past few months, Cate had enough of that herself.

“No, I really couldn’t stand that. Bad for my heart.”

Cate hid her smile and bit her tongue. Izzy had told her that her future mother-in-law now used that excuse anytime something wasn’t going her way

Although renovating Sunnycrest had seemed like a great idea last winter, the remodeling had brought more upsets than they’d anticipated.

Her nieces had navigated all the moving around pretty well.

In the end, the changes in color and style had been spectacular.

And now? Who knew which family members would end up living in the renovated home.

Cate was there, and yes, she loved the new color scheme, including the white mantelpiece with its gilded edges.

Very French Provincial. Glancing over to the new firepit, she imagined they would all end up there tonight after the party.

Recently, they’d had many gatherings of friends and family around that firepit.

The circle seemed to grow larger with each glowing fire.

The pianist switched to the wedding march and the familiar tune called everyone to attention.

Excitement shivered through Cate, and she sat up straight .

This is it, Jo. This is it! While her heart pounded, they all stood and turned.

Skipper had quietly walked up from the side, followed by the groomsmen, who joined him at the white arbor dripping with pink echinaceas and blue hydrangeas.

The handsome group included all the men who were important to the Quinns and she was so proud of them all.

They had decided to wear sport coats and khaki pants, which seemed very practical for everyone.

Whether the jacket was navy or pale blue, each man wore a pink echinacea in his buttonhole.

But people hadn’t come to see the men. No, their eyes swung to the back, where the women had started their short walk through the chairs.

Their pink chiffon dresses fluttered in the breeze.

As long as the dress was pink, Izzy was fine with any style.

The women would be able to wear their dresses again, and Cate enjoyed each design.

Whether the bridesmaids wore their hair up or down, their heads were encircled by crowns of pink dahlias, shading from pale pink to fuchsia.

In Izzy’s bouquet of blue hydrangeas and baby’s breath, the pink dahlias were a “pop of color,” as Gabby Driscoll would say.

That woman was so good with color. Sam and Marlowe seemed very happy with the color schemes for their bedrooms. Of course now, Izzy wouldn’t need hers.

Cate hoped Izzy would get to know Ainsley better, now that she had decided to stay in the area.

Following the bridesmaids, came Piper with Holly.

Cate held her breath. Although she hadn’t been in favor of that decision, she’d learned to keep her opinions to herself.

Well, most of the time. They’d worked at training Piper to behave.

There was a biscuit for the dog hidden in the basket Holly carried.

To her relief, Izzy’s baby girl seemed steady on her feet.

Her long white dress was embroidered with blue flowers, and she made sure to kick her feet out as she walked so people could see her blue shoes.

Wearing a huge grin, she tossed blue flower petals from her basket every which way.

Occasionally Piper leapt into the air to snap one up.

Cate slumped back against her chair once Piper had her treat and the little girl was tucked in between Marlowe and Sam.

The music swelled and it was time for the bride.

Cate turned and caught her breath. Izzy was a vision in white.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Irene murmured.

“She sure is.” Cate couldn’t find words to describe how Izzy had changed.

Maybe it was her experiences with motherhood.

Or maybe her years of real-life challenges had brought about the change, but Izzy seemed more settled.

At her first wedding she’d been giddy. Cate remembered that well.

The second one? Cate couldn’t even recall Izzy’s marriage to Chuck what’s-his-name.

But this time? Maybe the third time was the charm.

Her niece floated down the aisle, smiling and nodding to everyone, as if to say do you believe I pulled this off ?

Izzy had found her Vera Wang gown online.

The strapless dress cascaded to the ground in tiers of diaphanous tulle.

Quite lovely, and Izzy had made sure that Marlowe and Sam voiced their approval before ordering it.

“Maybe one of my sisters can wear this next,” Izzy had said to Cate, with a mischievous grin when she’d tried it on for them. Both Marlowe and Samantha looked as relieved as Cate to see their sister finally reunited with Skipper.

Reaching the end of the short aisle, Izzy took Skipper’s arm.

He beamed down at his bride. Izzy stood on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear and Skipper burst out laughing.

Together again. Cate had known all along that Skipper still loved Izzy.

But it sure had taken her a long time to realize that she loved him too.

“She’s different this time, isn’t she?” Irene murmured.

“You can say that again,” Cate exhaled. “They both are. When it comes to marriage, maturity is a blessing.”

Like many couples, they’d written their own vows, full of good intentions and forevers.

But in her heart Cate knew that they’d weathered the worst. At least she hoped they had.

Yes, she would miss having Izzy at Sunnycrest, but their new home wasn’t far away.

Apparently Ainsley was going to live there for a while.

She needed time to get her feet on the ground and for now, she was sharing the grandmother suite with her mother.

Sure, Cate wished that her sister were here to celebrate her baby girl’s wedding.

But somewhere Jo was watching. And Monty, Cate’s dear husband, was with her.

She felt his smile. We pulled it off. When we came back to Charlevoix, wonderful things happened .

Cate couldn’t ask for anything more. Could she? The beautiful service soon ended.

The reception line was short and Cate and Irene quickly moved to the front. They both figured age had its privileges. Irene had Holly by the hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear. Then she stood back as Holly raced toward Skipper.

“Looks like she’s on a mission.” Cate laughed. That child was always in motion.

“She wants to tell him her new word,” Irene murmured .

“New word?” Holly was very bright.

“Oh, you know, she picks up new words so quickly.”

Seeing the bundle of white barreling toward him, Skipper stooped and braced himself.

“Daddy!” Holly called out, jumping into his arms.

“Oh, my.” Cate had to reach for her handkerchief again.

“Such a shame that they can’t have more children,” Irene murmured. “But I understand about that surgery. And they have Holly.”

To her own surprise, Cate zipped her lips. Evidently Izzy had not told them everything. But then, their family was always full of surprises.

THE END